Cold memories, warm friendships

Army veterans mark 55th year since being drafted during Korean War

Army veterans mark 55th year since being drafted during Korean War

March 31, 2006|PABLO ROS Tribune Staff Writer

Most of them were drafted on the same day: March 23, 1951. For the past three years, they have met on March 23 to commemorate what was for them two years of cold weather but warm friendships. Last week, fifteen men from Mishawaka, South Bend, Goshen, Bremen, Grand Rapids and other nearby cities met at Honkers Family Restaurant in Mishawaka, some with their wives, some alone. This year, they commemorated the 55th year of their draft into the U.S. service. They shared photos and memories of their days together in the 196th regimental combat team stationed in Anchorage, Alaska, where they lived for two years during the Korean War. "It's really great," said Otis Forkner of seeing his friends again. "We were a close outfit," he said of the soldiers with him, "You live with these guys day in and day out. They're just like your brothers." Forkner, of Eau Claire, vividly remembers what it was like to live in such a cold climate and go long periods of time without food. "We slept on the ground at 50 below zero," he said, "It was quite an experience." But Forkner said he also loved the wildlife of Alaska, its moose, bears, and the salmon in the water. Forkner and Earl Limerick knew each other in Lakeville before they left for the service. Limerick said it was great to go with Forkner, a good friend he had known since the age of 5 and went to high school with. Now, getting together brings back lots of memories, Limerick said. "Some are funny and some are quite touching," he said, "They can make you feel humble." Limerick recalled when he almost lost his life after the airplane he was to board one day in Alaska (but didn't because he was directed to board a different one) crashed in the mountains. "I can't hardly look at one of those planes to think that my friends were killed," he said. Limerick said he lost 20 of his friends then. But there are also some good memories. Limerick and Laura Limerick, his wife of nearly 52 years, had known each other in high school before he left, but started corresponding during his service. "I had told her that when I got home I wanted to date her, so she arranged and got tickets to go to Plymouth High School and watch the Purdue Glee Club," Limerick said of their first date, just three or four days after he came back. "Two years isn't a terribly long time," Limerick said of the time he spent in Alaska, "but to us it seemed like forever." Of the friends who yearly meet on March 23, a few weren't able to make it this year, Limerick said. Others present included Frank Jermano of Mishawaka, Al and Dixie Clark of South Bend, and Robert and Anna Thomas of Mishawaka. Staff writer Pablo Ros: pros@sbtinfo.com (574) 235-6555